Revamping Date Night, Invigorating Marriage

I read an article the other day titled, “Revamping Date Night, Invigorating Marriage”. Just from the title, I thought it was worth a read. Basically, it said that most scholars agree that a certain decline of romantic love over a significant period of time is inevitable and foreseeable, that relationships can get familiar, predictable, boring and stale. It warned that marriages weren’t being made a high enough priority, and that people often put their careers, kids, hobbies, etc ahead of their marriage and take their spouse for granted.

Their solution? Date your spouse all over again…meaning that even if you have a regularly scheduled date night with your spouse, don’t do the same old things, eating at the same old restaurants, ordering the same old thing. Avoid sameness, and do something that is unusual for you. They said that all relationships need some novelty and excitement.

So…it was our turn for a date. I decided that since Michael really likes photography, and since I like to put photos on my blog, that we would go on a photography date and then out to dinner somewhere new.

My first photo was of these painted steps. I look at them every time I drive past. Michael had never noticed them before. It’s funny how we each see different things…

Next, I asked Michael to take me to see his new office. He still rides his bike into work most days, and needs a shower before he starts work. This is where he has to rinse off! Outside in the open for anyone to see! To the right is just trees! Ha! Hilarious. He decided to do some dumpster diving and brought back this big piece of plastic, and now each morning when he showers, he puts the “plastic door” up so that he has a little bit of privacy.

Next he showed me this weird display which is made up of everything recycled. I still don’t get the scary mannequin, but oh well. This is one of only a handful of pieces of “art” on this island.

Caught a little game of Samoan pick up basketball…

Bright coconuts, beautiful flowers, and cool trees…

Love the Japanese style building that was destroyed in the Tsunami. It has grass growing on the roof now. Cool.

After dinner, we stopped at the harbor for a few minutes…

And then on the way home, we pulled over at a little Filipino place to buy a cookie. It was nasty. We laughed. Good, something unique that we would remember this date for. As we laughed in the parking lot, Michael noticed a hair dresser next door and decided we had time for him to get a quick cut! Random.

The same people from the bakery came in to do Michael’s hair. He asked the man to leave it the same length at the top, and just cut the sides and back short. The man nodded, and then proceeded to attack Michael’s head with the scissors, starting with chopping off huge amounts of hair from the top! I was so close to peeing my pants! I wanted to laugh out loud, but had to keep quiet to be polite. Michael could see me shaking out of the corner of his eye, and was trying not to laugh too. It got worse…the man just went to town on Michael, chopping off huge clumps at a time, and then he started looking at Michael’s reflection in the mirror, and cut from what he could see…he wasn’t even looking at Michael’s head, just at the reflection. Wow. I really didn’t think I could keep my laughter in. It was hilarious. There were hairs sticking out at the back, and when he was finally done, I pointed them out to him and so he went to town again and hacked some more. It was so funny. Michael is the kind of person who is overly polite and would never complain or say anything, so he paid him for the haircut, gave him a tip, and walked out!

He has a really short haircut now, but we have the memory of a date we will never forget….”Remember when we went on that date and we stopped for a haircut and that Filipino man started chopping all your hair off like a maniac????” Awesome. I like revamping date night.